Chapter Text
Izuku had the front door open the second he heard footsteps stop in front of it.
“Dad!” He beamed at the usually scruffy man, who was now in casual wear, hair tucked back like he did in off-hours at the dorms, and launched himself at him.
His Dad caught him, and carded a hand through his hair.
“Long time no see, Izuku.” he teased.
Izuku ignored the teasing aspect. “Very long time.” He mumbled into Shota’s chest. He felt his dad’s huff of amusement.
The hug lasted for a few more moments before Izuku let go and sped back into his room to grab his bags.
He heard his mum go out to greet his dad while he did a final check for having everything he needed for school the following day since he was spending the night.
He emerged a moment later, school bag resting on one shoulder and a duffle resting on the other. He wobbled on the spot as he tried to close his door with his foot while he gripped the straps to his bags.
He finally settled as he got the door closed, and grinned at both of his parents who had turned to watch him from the entryway of the short hall.
“You ready to go, kid?”
“Yeah! Just a second, Dad.” Izuku glanced at his mum before shuffling awkwardly with his bags. “Could you grab this for me?” He angled the shoulder with the duffle towards him.
His dad nodded and stepped forward to take his bag. The second his left shoulder was free, Izuku turned to his mum and enveloped her in a large hug.
She laughed lightly, and returned the hug a bit tighter than she normally would. When he pulled back he saw tears building in her eyes. He wordlessly pulled a handkerchief from a pocket on his school bag and handed it to her with a soft smile. “I’ll call you in the evening, okay?”
She dabbed at her eyes with the proffered object. “I would like that. Thank you, Izuku.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mum.”
She gently pressed Izuku’s handkerchief back into his hands. She then reached up to plant a kiss on his forehead, giving him warm fuzzies.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Izuku.”
He gave her another quick squeeze, before bounding back over to Shota, offering to hold his duffel again. His dad shook his head with a smile. He’ll hold on to it for Izuku.
His mum turned to face his dad. “You have my number, so please keep me updated on anything that needs updating on.”
Shota nodded.
She hesitated for a moment. “Just… take care of Izuku, okay?”
Izuku saw his dad’s eyes bore into his Mum’s. “I’ll do my very best.” He inclined his head. “Thank you for trusting me with your son.”
Inko’s shoulders dropped, but she smiled. “I think he’d figure out a way to stay with you with or without my blessing.” Her eyes turned to rove over Izuku. “But I haven’t seen him this happy since the day he got his UA acceptance letter.” Her eyes went back to Shota. “I think this was the best decision I could have made.” She said determinedly.
Shota ruffled Izuku’s hair in wordless agreement.
He took a moment to assess the state of everything. “It looks like everything is in order. Should we head off now?”
Izuku shifted his school bag so that it was on his back properly. “Yeah.”
“We’re off!” He called as he and his dad stepped out of the apartment.
“Take care Izuku!” Inko responded, just before the door closed.
“I will! Love you, Mum. Thank you!”
The door closed, and suddenly it was just him and his dad.
His dad nudged him and they began to make their way to the staircase.
“I assume you’re good with taking the train? I usually get around that way.”
Izuku nodded. “Yeah! I think you’ve mentioned something like that before. Or maybe Mic did. He was complaining about you stealing his car one morning when he needed it.”
His dad smirked. “He’s the one who showed me where he keeps his keys and told me to ‘have at it’ whenever I needed.”
Laughter bubbled out of Izuku’s chest, and he had to stop himself from falling down the stairs. He ignored his dad’s raised eyebrow.
“Sorry, sorry. That’s just… very typical of mic. He does very sweet things and then forgets that you’re…” Izuku trailed off cheekily, eyes shining.
His dad’s own eyes narrowed down at him as they stepped out of the apartment building. “I’m what, brat?”
“You’re… you.”
Shota bapped his fist softly against Izuku’s head in a playful reprimand. “You were thinking of a different word. I’d bet Hizashi on it.”
Izuku leaned away from his fist and laughed again. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”
The conversation lulled for a moment as they walked down a familiar path
“Speaking of Mic,” Izuku began, “How have you been, you know, after being able to hang out with him again?” He looked up at his dad, before adding, “And Midnight-sensei too.”
His dad was silent for a moment, clearly lost in thought.
“It…” He hesitated, grabbing Izuku’s full attention. “It’s been easier than I thought it’d be.”
“Easier?” Izuku asked.
Shota grunted an affirmative. “It’s easy to pretend nothing happened.” He clarified.
Izuku made a noise of understanding. He was about to prompt for more, when his dad turned the question on him.
“What about your friends? You have been spending most of your break times with them but I can tell you aren’t engaging with them the same way you would have normally done.”
Izuku guiltily thought back over the past week. He had gently brushed off most attempts of anything more than surface level interactions with his classmates. Except for Kacchan. But then Izuku dodged him for the rest of the week too.
He watched his shoes as he walked. “I think we’ve talked about this before, but… after knowing everyone for a year… coming back to a time where they’ve only known me for three months is… hard.” He looked to the side at the active street. “Even with Kacchan, despite knowing him for years before, anyone would be able to see how much better our relationship was by the time he… yeah.”
Izuku sighed. “They’re also not the greatest at pretending nothing happened either.”
“I figured.” Shota dryly intoned. Izuku let out a sad chuckle.
“You know…” Shota began, carefully. “It’s okay if you can’t bring yourself to let them in again. Even if you still love them all a lot.”
His dad left him to his thoughts for a bit as they approached the train station and went to wait for the train to arrive.
His dad was right, at least in the way of implying that he had a choice to make. He couldn’t be with them but keep them at arm’s distance. He refuses to toy with their feelings like that.
He remained torn as they stepped on the train. His dad also took a moment to nudge him and point out the stop they had to get off at, to which Izuku absently nodded, and stored the information away for when he’d go to his dad’s by himself.
Tension formed in his head as he mulled over what to do. He didn’t know how he was meant to just… decide like that.
“Do you want to see Hizashi and Nemuri?” Shota suddenly asked
The question took him by surprise, and he looked to the side where his dad was seated. “Present Mic and Midnight-sensei?”
His dad nodded.
Izuku blinked. “Why?” He blinked again as he realised how rude that might have sounded. He waved his arms frantically. “Not that I mean I wouldn’t be happy to see them or anything! Especially since I got along well with Mic and Kurakumo, but… why?” He finished lamely.
His dad pursed his lips and leaned forward, resting his weight on his arms and hunching his back to follow through with the seated position.
“I think it might help.” He admitted.
Izuku tilted his head. He still wasn’t quite sure what his dad meant. He did, however, trust that the man knew him more than well enough to know what he was doing.
“Okay.” Izuku nodded. “Today?”
Shota shrugged. “If you want.” He then pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned the screen to show Izuku hundreds of messages from the two that his dad had ignored. “Though, the second they found out you were coming over, they’ve been begging to see you.”
He tucked his phone back in his pocket, and leaned back in his seat. “I told them they should give you a chance to see my place and get comfy for today, but it’s really up to you.”
Izuku blinked. “They want to see me?”
His dad gave him a strange look. “You’re the one who told me that they told you to call them Aunt and Uncle. That, and they’ve slipped and called you their nephew a few times in front of me when talking to other teachers. They’re not subtle.”
That startled a laugh out of Izuku. He also fought an embarrassed tinge on his cheeks at the fact that his dad’s friends had been talking about him, and treating him like a real nephew to people in their circle.
“Also, you know you can call them by their names outside of school, right? You kept using their hero names, even in the End, but you really didn’t need to. Especially for Hizashi.”
“I know.” Izuku whined. “But they’re heroes! And my teachers! It’s hard…”
That earned him the most impressive “really?” look he’d received in a long time.
“Stooop.” He pouted. “You’re my dad. It’s different.” As an afterthought, he added, “Plus, I literally still called you sensei on the regular just a week ago.”
It was his dad’s turn to blink. He honestly looked a little dumbfounded. “...Has it really only been a week?”
An amused smile tugged at Izuku’s lips. “It’s only been a week, Dad.” He confirmed.
“...Holy shit.”
A shocked laugh escaped his chest. “Dad!”
Shota pulled a face. “I was still calling you Midoriya just last week, too. Why?” He spoke with the most bewildered tone Izuku had ever heard from the man, sending Izuku further into peals of laughter.
Before he even had time to stop laughing and begin formulating a response, the train’s arrival at their stop was announced.
Izuku bounded up from his seat, and practically dragged Shota off the train.
Shota huffed fondly, but ultimately let his son lead him off the train. He wondered how long it would take Izuku to realise that he didn’t know which direction he was meant to be going in as he continued to be dragged around the station.
Shota found himself glancing around all the city infrastructure, and at his son, who was visibly younger from how he had been just a week prior.
Wow. A single week, huh?
He listened to Izuku chatter with a smile.
Well, it had easily been one of the best weeks of his life.
He can't help but wonder what the next week will bring. But for now, they'll get through today, no responsibilities other than being a dad and their kid.
Just being a dad and their kid in a world full of dads and their kids.
He really was so blessed.